PCI Pharma Services’ Hay-on-Wye Site Launches Specialist Packaging Design Department

The department complements PCI's existing state-of-the-art packaging design center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and responds to the increasing customer demand from the pharmaceutical industry for a full packaging design service in Europe.

Conceived by Paul Smallman, Associate Director Technical Services at PCI the department ensures a robust and agile New Product Introduction (NPI) process delivering maximum speed-to-market, offering science-based customer support and enhancing technical and regulatory compliance reflecting PCI's commitment to driving innovation and supporting growth for its customers.

Harmonizing packaging materials, design and process this new department offers the latest development services including 3D parametric modelling, 3D rendering, 3D printing, graphical representations and laser cut samples that can be used for both marketing and regulatory submission support. The specialist service also enables true representation using 3D printing technology to produce prototype printed blisters as well as cold-form and thermo-form tooling to enable the production of actual blisters truly representing clinical and commercial packaging.

Commenting on the launch, Paul Smallman said: "PCI is challenging and changing the role of the traditional contract manufacturing organization, many of which do not offer a full design service instead relying on the customer to provide the design. Our pioneering service ensures that the design format is compliant to the markets identified in the customers' launch plans, as well as for future markets, trends and regulatory compliance. This allows us to help develop truly patient-centric packaging, identifying the optimal medium for delivering the product to the patient and ensure better health outcomes.

He added: "PCI is the first and only choice for outsourcing and re-engineering existing legacy products as well as delivering new molecules coming to market where the packaging needs to be more than just a delivery mechanism to get the drug and instruction to the patient. The packaging solution must be part of the overall treatment by driving compliance and ease of use at the right price."

Within the Technical Services division, PCI has more than 50 years of packaging technology design experience. By combining such expertise into one department PCI will drive speed to market for all products, minimizing potential delays on review, design input and sign-off procedures on and off site.

"We consider NPI to be a key part to all of our roles at PCI with commercialization the end output. Get NPI right and commercialization will happen seamlessly and reliably," explained Paul.

Paul Smallman is a member of the ISPE Communities of Practice for packaging - Packaging Steering Committee.